How The Rain Stopped
by ILycorisI
Summary: Felt but unspoken, done but unseen. Ichigo realizes what these terms mean when he dares Rukia to do something neither of them ever could've done, but wanted to. IchiRuki, one shot.


15-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo lay on his bed staring up at the single crack in his ivory ceiling. Although considering the number of times his father had "ambushed" him in here he was thoroughly surprised there was _only_ one crack. He could be doing a number of things with his time right now, such as helping Yuzu with dinner, or doing his homework, or maybe even saving poor defendless spirits against the hollows that were constantly after them. He snorted at the thought,

As if on cue the familiar but certainly not comforting sound of his closet door slamming open and the raven-haired shinigami that resided inside it shouting his name. "Ichigo, a hollow's been spotted on the radar near the central park!" Ichigo turned on his side ignoring Rukia's urgent request.

"Ichigo are you listening to me!" She yelled obviously agitated, "No." Ichigo replied sarcastically she was such a bore sometimes.

"Must I remind you that you've taken my powers?" "This is your job now!" Rukia replied her voice not changing its rather loud tone as she jumped down beside him. "If it 's my job then can't I take a break?" "Just for June anyway." Ichigo stated as came Rukia's all to obvious response, "Of course not!"

"It won't take long at all what's gotten into you?"

"Alright, alright, shut up." Ichigo put a hand over her mouth in silent irritation, "You're going to make my family suspicious."

"Ichigo-"

"Okay I'll do it."

"You will?" Rukia asked in surprise,

"Yeah on one condition."

She slanted her eyes pulling his hand away from her mouth, "What is it?" she said in an icy tone that almost made Ichigo want to jump up in fright, but Ichigo wouldn't do that, Ichigo was a _man_. He wasn't afraid of Rukia or the feelings she gave him…

"Well?" Rukia asked impatiently, Ichigo blinked realizing the utter mistake he had just made. Rukia was a shinigami of course she wouldn't be afraid of his threats or dares like the other kids at school. Instead he had to make her do something she wouldn't dream of much less _do_ in a million years, wait didn't she say she had been alive that long?

Crap, he was getting side tracked and Rukia's unwavering gaze only helped to make his stomach tie into an uncomfortable knot. He had to say something, _anything_ to get those eyes out of his mind!

"Yeah. You have to kiss me," A shocked expression played across Rukia's features as Ichigo did his best to resist laughing not even _she _would be able to do _this_, who knows maybe if she started blushing he'd be in a good enough mood to kill her hollow anyway.

"And we both know you would never do that so-"

"Very well."

Ichigo stared into the same set of dark eyes he had been locked with only a moment ago, somehow she had managed to climb up on his bed without him noticing, but that wasn't the problem now. She had just said-

Ichigo lost whatever train of thought had been playing through his mind as her lips fell in place against his embracing them in a way Ichigo could never have imagined. This was his first kiss, hell it was the first time he had ever been this close to a girl in his entire life! He thought as he stared up at her, her eyes now closed.

He didn't know why or really how, but he followed along as his "innocent" dare became more passionate her tongue sped past his lips and in a second he was doing his own part of this strange ritual he felt captured by.

But all at once as he stared up at the woman, who had saved his family, whom had changed his life, who he had trusted. And pushed her off with a heavier force then he intended to.

The two of them sat across from each other now, Ichigo panting against his bedroom wall.

"What the hell did you do that for?" He yelled Rukia's face doing a poor job to hide her displeasure of being thrown to the other side of the bed and then being yelled at.

"What do you mean? You just told me-"

"I never thought you would actually do it!" Ichigo cried jumping off his bed, he could feel his blood pumping through every vein in his body.

He had _liked_ what had just happened, but he wasn't supposed to, she wasn't supposed to, it was all wrong!

Rukia sat up regaining her composer once more. "Well then you shouldn't have said anything in the first place!"

Ichigo grimaced and looked at her this time it was his turn to glare at her through slanted eyes. "Change me into a shinigami, _now_."

---

After taking his anger out on the hollow Ichigo stood stone still in the middle of the park, rain falling over his expressionless and now blood soaked face.

The battle wasn't hard at all, but it didn't give Ichigo any relief from his raging emotions either. He stared down at his zanpakuto the colorless rain dripping over its smooth hilt.

In one movement he picked it up and headed toward his house once more, not waiting to see if Rukia and that annoying glove of hers had followed him. Not wanting to.

"Ichigo-" Rukia began as she came out from behind the tree he had so roughly instructed her to hide behind.

"If it's about today, don't start." Ichigo said harshly without facing her. "Just never do it again."

Rukia scowled "Your at as much fault as I am Ichigo spouting out lies!"

"I know that!" Ichigo yelled back turning to her his face soaking wet, "But never do anything like that again. Kissing… touching… those are things meant to be done between people who care about each other not between you or me!" He said finally before continuing on his way,

That's what his mother had always told him, how could he have been so stupid? Rukia didn't care for him, he was just in her way.

Rukia shook not from the freezing rain but the coldness of Ichigo's words, she followed after him paying no heed to the pain her gigai lungs felt. "Ichigo!"

She had finally caught him her hand now on his black sleeve he didn't move, he didn't speak, so instead she gripped it ever tighter."Ichigo I- My feelings-" How would she ever convey to him the things bubbling at the tip of her tongue? The sense of wonder she felt when their lips met, his strength that still amazed and surprised her, his fiery yet far seeing eyes. How?

He still didn't move but Rukia began to think he would leave her, for good. It was ridiculous but she held him ever tighter. "Ichigo, you can feel me even when you're in spirit form correct?" Ichigo turned to her surprised by her sudden action, "It's the same with my-"

Ichigo silenced her as their mouths met in unison once more. _"Ichigo sometimes you have to tell a person how you feel or they'll never know, other times you just need to notice the subtle hints they give you." _Ichigo remembered his mother's words as he pulled Rukia closer.

Felt but unspoken, done but unseen, he realized it now and as the rain washed over the two of them it no longer felt like a burden but a cleansing epiphany.

"You know… Yuzu's going to get mad when she finds out her favorite dress is soaked." He stated finally breaking the calm silence that had come over them.

Rukia looked up into Ichigo's eyes now softened by the dim light of the moon, but that wasn't the only thing gentle about them. "We'll come up with something."

Ichigo nodded offering her a hand as they both headed back to his house, where it all began, where it all ended, and where the rain had finally stopped.

---

A/N: For those of you who are confused about what time this takes place in the series I really have no answer.oO -gets shot- I orignally planned this to be roughly after the grand fisher battle but Kon wasn't in it so... let's just say it's somewhere in between the grandfisher and SS arc kay? Either that or Karin and Yuzu kidnapped Kon for the nght.xD Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it, ja ne!


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